Bridges
by stealth gato
Summary: Sasuke finally comes back. But no matter how har he tries he can't break his last bond. WARNING: boy/boy love. language. cahracter death at the end. M for safety. I think it's a bit more mature than t but not super bad or anything
1. Chapter 1

Bridges

OKAY, Discalimers and warnings: I don't own naruto. in all honesty i don't want to own it cause i'm not nearly creative enough to own it and then naruto would suck and no one would be writing fan fiction about it. So you should actually be thanking me for not owning it. ALSO! this story is long, bi-polar, slightly OOC and contains boy/boy action. no actual descriptive lemon but heck, this is my first try. Anyway... ON WITH THE STORY!!

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The mission had taken twice as long as it was supposed to have. Instead of three months it had taken nearly six and a half. He was tired and just wanted to get back to the village where everything was calm and normal. But this time, something was different. He knew it the second he got back from his mission. He could feel his presence just while approaching the front gates. Then all the looks from the villagers confirmed it. Sasuke was back. He took a deep breath and ran to his apartment as fast as he could. He didn't want to deal with it right now. However, he found Sakura standing in front of his door waiting for him.

"I heard you were back." She said softly.

"Please, Sakura, I'm really tired. Can we talk about this tomorrow?" Naruto asked opening his door. He went into his apartment and Sakura followed.

"How did you," Sakura started but stopped when Naruto looked back at her.

"I've spent five years looking for him. You think I wouldn't know if he came back?" He asked. Sakura looked at the floor.

"He's been back for about a month." She said.

"That's nice." Naruto said in an indifferent tone.

"Tsunade locked him up. He's in solitary confinement." She said. Naruto shrugged and started pulling off his dirty mission clothes. "From the ANBU reports he hasn't eaten or slept or done much of anything since he's been put there."

"Okay." Naruto shrugged.

"Naruto." Sakura said softly as she reached out to him.

"What do you want me to do, Sakura? I have more important things than Sasuke to think about now." Naruto told her. Sakura bit her lip and bowed her head slightly in defeat.

"I'm glad you came back safely. Things aren't the same without you around. We started to miss you, some more than others." She said softly.

"Yeah. How is Rei?" Naruto asked.

"He's not the same without you around. He's still at my house I didn't want to bring him and have you not show up." She said softly. Naruto nodded.

"I'll come by tomorrow and pick him up." Naruto said.

"Sure." Sakura nodded. She turned to leave.

"Sakura." Naruto called. She stopped but didn't turn to face him.

"Thanks." Naruto said.

"It's nothing. I enjoy taking care of Rei." Sakura said.

"No, I meant about Sasuke. I know that's why you came." Naurto said softly. Sakura said nothing. She nodded her head and left the apartment. Naruto sighed heavily and went to his bathroom. He took a quick shower refusing to let his thoughts wander to anything other than the hot water pelting his sore muscles and his desperate need for sleep. He finished his shower and dried off. Pulling on a clean pair of boxers he laid down on his bed and passed out. Thankful for the dreamless sleep he was allowed instead of the usual nightmares involving a certain missing-nin who recently returned to the village.

--

A soft knocking entered the sleepy blonde's head, stirring him from his sleep. It wasn't until his sleep-hazed mind woke up that he realized it wasn't quiet knocking but loud banging coming from his front door.

"DADDY!" someone screamed form the other side of the door. Nearly tripping as he jumped out of the bed, Naruto made it to the front door in less than two steps. It flung open as a small body flew forward into his arms. The small child started crying into Naruto's chest. "I missed you daddy. Don't leave me alone any more please." He cried. Naruto pet the boy's hair and rocked him slightly.

"I'm sorry Rei. I promise that I'll try not to stay away for too long." Naruto whispered into his hair. The boy tightened his grip on Naruto as Naruto lifted him off of the ground. Naruto noticed Sakura standing in the doorway and smiled at her.

"He found out you were back when Kakashi came home." Sakura said trying to explain why they were there. Not that Naruto really cared. Naruto shifted Rei on his hip slightly and looked at him.

"You hungry?" He asked. Rei nodded.

"Ramen!" Rei said excitedly. Naruto and Sakura laughed. Naruto had found and adopted a miniature version of his self. Most people were shocked while others were afraid that there were two Narutos in the village at first but then after the first year everyone warmed up to Rei and now everyone loved him.

"How about we invite Aunt Sakura and Uncle Kakashi to eat with us?" Naruto asked. Rei nodded and looked at Sakura excitedly.

"You want to come?" He asked.

"I'd love to, but Kakashi is probably still asleep." Sakura said. Rei got an evil look on his face, obviously plotting something devious. "He'll smack you if you wake him up." Sakura warned the small child. Kakashi had used his sharingan on Rei once and now Rei was terrified of upsetting his Uncle. Rei's devious look fell and he gulped loudly.

"Then we probably shouldn't wake him." Rei said. Naruto smiled and set Rei down on the floor.

"I'm going to get dressed and then we'll go eat." Naruto said going into the bedroom and grabbing the only pair of clean clothes he had.

"I see you're going to have to do laundry today." Sakura smiled seeing the black shirt that read 'this is literally my last shirt' in red letters and the gray sweat pants stained with paint from when he was helping Sai clean his house and a shelf full of paint fell over on top of him.

"Yeah, six moth missions are a bitch." Naruto said. Sakura hit him and Rei giggled.

"Watch your language in front of your son." She snapped at him. Naruto smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck.

"Sorry, Sakura." He said.

"Daddy, can we go eat?" Rei said pulling on Naruto's pants leg. Naruto smiled.

"Lets go, I'm starving." Naruto said. He picked Rei up and put him on his shoulders. Rei cheered and they all walked out of the apartment.

"Naruto!" Kiba shouted as he ran up.

"Hey, Kiba." Naruto smiled seeing his friend.

"I heard you got back yesterday. We were getting worried for a while, I'm glad you made it back okay, man." Kiba said. Kiba then looked up at Rei. "Hey squirt." He smiled. Rei beamed at him. Out of all of his father's friends Kiba was one of his favorites because Kiba had Akamaru.

"Hello Kiba." Rei said.

"How are you this morning?" Kiba asked.

"We're on our way to eat." Rei told him.

"Would you like to join us?" Naruto asked. Kiba sighed.

"I'd love to man, but me and Akamaru are doing our rounds. If you're still there in half an hour I'd love to join you." Kiba said.

"What do you mean if? These two would never leave the Ramen stand if it weren't for me." Sakura said. Kiba laughed and Naruto and Rei gave her almost identical glares.

"Cool, then I'll see you later." Kiba smiled and waved to them as he ran off. The trio continued to the ramen stand where they found Shikamaru and Choji just as Kiba had said.

"Hmm, Naruto. You are alive." Shikamaru said. Naruto set Rei down and the boy jumped on a stool and ordered five bowls of Ramen, two for him and three for his daddy.

"Yeah, I was excited to get back home." Naruto said.

"Until you found you about," Choji started and Naruto winced. He really didn't want Choji to say his name for some reason. Choji saw the wince and quickly shut his mouth.

"Yeah, until then I guess." Naruto said. Rei looked at his father not knowing what they were talking about.

"Daddy?" He asked.

"Don't worry about it, Rei. Just eat your ramen." Naruto said softly and smiled warmly at his son. Rei nodded and kept eating.

"So, what are you going to do?" Shikamaru asked.

"I didn't realize that I was supposed to do anything." Naruto said somewhat bitterly. He didn't want to talk about it. He wanted to ignore it.

"Well, you are," Shikamaru started.

"So, Naruto, did Rei tell you about Kakashi helping him with his ninja training?" Sakura asked quickly stopping Shikamaru form finishing his sentence.

"Really?" Naruto asked looking at his son. Rei smiled and nodded.

"Yeah! He says I need to start early if I'm gonna be as great as you." Rei said excitedly. Naruto laughed and ruffled Rei's hair.

"That's my boy." Naruto smiled.

"Don't you think he's a little young to be training?" Shikamaru asked.

"What? Are you questioning my training abilities?" Kakashi asked form behind them. The five at the bar jumped slightly and turned to see the smiling older man. "Yo." He said; his visible eye crinkled in a smile.

"Kakashi, don't sneak up on us." Sakura snapped and hit him. Kakashi rubbed his arm where she had hit him and looked over at Naruto.

"I hear the mission was a success?" Kakashi asked. Naruto nodded.

"Thankfully." Naruto said quickly glancing at Rei.

"Have you turned in your report to Tsunade?" Kakashi asked. Naruto winced slightly knowing she wasn't going to be happy he's turning it in late.

"Yeah, I was going to run by later." Naruto said. Sakura sighed.

"You know she hates when you turn your reports in late." Sakura said.

"I don't care; I had more important things to handle first." Naruto said. Rei smiled when everyone looked at him knowing that he was what Naruto had been talking about. Kakashi laughed and lifted Sakura to sit in her chair and then pull her onto his lap. Naruto smiled. Kakashi and Sakura had been together for almost a year. When Naruto stopped looking for Sasuke he decided that team seven needed to hang out more. After a few months Kakashi and Sakura started realizing they had deeper feelings than just friendship. Naruto encouraged them but both were too nervous to do anything until about a year ago when Naruto locked them in a room and forced them to talk to each other about it. They were together the next day.

"You should turn your report in pretty soon; Tsunade isn't in the best of moods." Sakura told him as she stood up. Kakashi tried to keep in a whimper at the loss of her warmth but it ended up coming out as a squeak. Naruto, Shikamaru and Choji giggled under their breath while Rei laughed out loudly. "I have to get back to the hospital; I'll walk with you, Naruto." Sakura said.

"But what about Kiba? He said he would meet us here." Naruto said.

"Choji will tell him you had to see the hokage." Sakura said pointing at Choji.

"If I have to wait here for him, I don't mind at all." Choji smiled as he ordered another bowl of ramen.

"Tsk, troublesome." Shikamaru sighed.

"Fine." Naruto sighed. He stood up and looked at Rei.

"I'll take Rei for training while you go see the hokage." Kakashi said quickly knowing why Naruto didn't want to take Rei with him. Rei jumped up.

"Really? Awesome!" Rei shouted. Naruto smiled softly at Kakashi.

"Yeah, that sounds good." Naruto nodded. Naruto kissed his son's head and left with Sakura.

"She's going to want to talk to you about him." Sakura said. Naruto nodded but said nothing. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?" Naruto smiled. Sakura could tell it was fake. Naruto could tell she knew it was fake but kept the smile. It was more for his reassurance than for hers anyway. Sakura reached out and took his hand and Naruto squeezed it. It didn't really make him feel better, but he was thankful for the gesture regardless. Sakura walked with Naruto all the way to the hokage's office before she dropped his hand.

"I really have to get back to the hospital." She said. "I'll talk to you later, okay?" She asked. Naruto nodded. She kissed his cheek and gave him a reassuring smile before running down the hall. Naruto knocked on the large doors of the office.

"What?" Tsunade's voice called angrily from the other side. Naruto opened the door and stuck his head in. Tsunade's angered expression softened slightly at the sight of him. Naruto stepped into the office and shut the door. "I heard you came back yesterday." She said. Naruto nodded.

"I'm sorry for the delay; I had to spend time with Rei." Naruto said bowing slightly. Tsunade grunted and he looked up at her.

"Don't bow to me brat, I know how much you hate it." She said. Naruto straightened up and looked at the floor. "I'm sure you've heard by now." She said.

"Yes." Naruto said softly. Tsunade watched him closely as his shoulders slumped slightly forward.

"Naruto," Tsunade called softly.

"Why now?" Naruto asked clenching his fists. Tsunade could tell he was trying not to cry in front of her. "Why did he have to come back now? Why did he have to come back at all?" Naruto asked.

"He won't talk to us." Tsunade said.

"We were getting along just fine without him. I was just fine without him and now he's back." Naruto said angrily.

"Naruto," Tsunade sighed.

"I don't need your pity!" Naruto yelled at her. "I don't want anyone's pity. I can't stand the sympathetic looks, or the constant checking on me, or the whispers that people try to hide because they don't want to talk about that bastard around me." He shouted angrily. Tsunade winced slightly at the volume. "I don't want pity." Naruto said softly before he started crying. Tsunade quickly got up and wrapped her arms around Naruto. "I couldn't do it. I couldn't bring him back and now he's here." Naruto cried. He had spent five years trying to bring Sasuke back. Sasuke had killed Orochimaru and Itachi but still hadn't returned. At their last meeting Sasuke had told Naruto to give up on him because he wasn't going to ever come back as long as he lived. But now, three years after that, Sasuke was back.

"I know, Naruto." Tsunade said softly trying to comfort the crying young man.

"Why is he back? Why did he have to come back?" Naruto asked over and over again. Tsunade just held him until he stopped crying. Naruto sighed and stepped away from her. "I'm pathetic, aren't I?" Naruto asked wiping his eyes.

"No." Tsunade said warmly.

"I am." Naruto said and sat down on the floor. "I'm pathetic for letting him affect me like this. I shouldn't care, but I still do." Naruto said. There was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Tsunade said. Naruto didn't care if anyone saw him sitting on the floor and crying at the moment. A man dressed as a prison guard entered the room. He froze when he saw Naruto on the floor.

"Should I come back?" The guard asked.

"No, don't mind me." Naruto said pitifully.

"Um, the prisoner still isn't responding." The guard said.

"You can say his name." Naruto said.

"Sasuke hasn't moved from his spot and hasn't eaten or drunk anything. We try to force him but it's no use." The guard said. Tsunade's eyes went over to Naruto.

"I have to get going, granny. I don't want to force Kakashi to train Rei all day." Naruto said before Tsunade could say anything about Sasuke. He could see it in her eyes that she was going ask him something. Naruto jumped out of the window and ran as fast as he could to the training grounds. The training grounds shook as Naruto slammed a rasengan into the dirt. He laid down in the giant crater in the middle of the field.

"Something you want to talk about?" A soft voice called. Naruto growled at the imaginary Sasuke. He would imagine Sasuke whenever he was too stressed and needed someone to talk to. When Sasuke was there, he was the person Naruto took out all his frustrations on so when he left he created an imaginary Sasuke.

"Go away, Sasuke." Naruto said softly.

"Why are you so upset?" Sasuke asked.

"Why did you come back?" Naruto asked.

"Is that why you're upset?" Sasuke asked.

"I couldn't bring you back. You said I would have to kill you to get you back here and now you're back. Why did you do that?" Naruto asked softly. The imaginary Sasuke didn't answer. He couldn't of course because he was imaginary.

"Naruto?" A soft voice called. Naruto looked up to see Hinata standing there.

"Hey, Hinata." Naruto said.

"What are you doing?" Hinata asked.

"Laying in a hole." Naruto said looking at the crater he had created. Hinata climbed down and sat down next to him.

"Are you okay?" She asked. Naruto knew from her tone that she was talking about him physically and not about Sasuke being back.

"I'm fine." Naruto said sitting up. Hinata looked at the hole around them.

"What happened?" Hinata asked.

"You haven't heard?" Naruto asked looking at her. She looked confused.

"I guess not." She said. "I've been on a mission for two months. I just got back. I was looking for Kiba and found you."

"Sasuke is back." Naruto said softly. Hinata looked at him.

"Is that good or bad?" She asked. Naruto looked at her a little shocked.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked. Hinata shrugged.

"Isn't it what you wanted?" Hinata asked. Naruto's eyebrows furrowed. "You always said Sasuke was coming back. And now he is."

"Yeah, I guess." Naruto said. "I don't really know how to feel about it. I mean I'm kind of happy he's back but I'm sad because I remember what he said the last time I saw him and then I'm angry because everyone pities me now."

"I won't pity you if you don't want me to." Hinata said. Naruto nodded and stood up. He helped Hinata up as well.

"I need to find Kakashi and Rei. Kiba should be finished with his rounds now. He was supposed to meet me for ramen, but I had to go see Tsunade. He might still be there." Naruto said. Hinata nodded.

"Thanks, Naruto." She smiled softly at him and blushed a bit.

"Bye, Hinata." Naruto smiled and ran off to find his son.


	2. Chapter 2

congrats, you've made it to chapter 2. I guess that should really be better for me than you because it mean that you liked my story. anyway, I DON'T OWN NARUTO. YAOI. BOY/BOY LOVE. ETC. continue...

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"Daddy, why did everyone look sad at you today at dinner?" Rei asked his dad as Naruto tucked him into his bed. Naruto had noticed the looks his friends had given him at their dinner party. Since everyone was there for the first time in over six months they all had dinner together. Naruto smiled at his son.

"Nothing, don't worry Rei." Naruto smiled at him. Rei rarely heard anything about Sasuke he knew Sasuke was a sort of taboo around the village. No one talked about it, and if they did it was always in soft whispers as if speaking out loud would cause some terrible disaster. The only times Rei heard of Sasuke was when people talked about him killing Orochimaru and his brother Itachi. From what Rei understood, those two men were very evil and Sasuke had done a favor by ridding the world of them so he didn't understand why they made him sound like a bad guy. Of course, Rei didn't know that it was because of Sasuke that everyone was looking so sadly at his daddy.

"I missed you, Daddy." Rei said with a yawn.

"I missed you too, kiddo." Naruto smiled at him. Naruto kissed his forehead and stood up. "Good night, Rei." Naruto said.

"Night, Daddy. I love you." Rei said. Naruto paused for a moment. He still wasn't use to having people say that to him. He smiled.

"I love you too." Naruto said and turned the light out. He went to his room and laid down on his bed. It wasn't five seconds before and ANBU appeared in the room. Naruto had felt them coming and so sat up lazily to look at the intruder.

"You have been summoned by the hokage, Uzumaki." The ANBU said. Naruto looked at him and laid back down.

"If this is about Sasuke, tell her to forget it, Hyugga." Naruto said looking up at the ceiling.

"I figured you would be excited he was back." Neji said leaning on Naruto's dresser. Naruto laughed slightly.

"You and your cousin are the only two people who didn't feel sorry for me when they found out." Naruto said. Neji grunted indifferently.

"Regardless, you've been summoned." He said.

"I already told you that I'm not going." Naruto said. He felt himself being pulled to his feet.

"Sorry, Uzumaki but I have orders to take you to the hokage." Neji said.

"Put me down, Hyugga." Naruto growled at him.

"Iruka has been informed that you have to see the hokage and is on his way here to take care of Rei." Neji told him. Naruto growled but knew he couldn't do anything about it.

"Fine." Naruto said shoving Neji off of him and walking out of his house. He took his time getting to the hokage's office even though he could feel Neji trailing him. When he reached her office he just walked in without even knocking. "I'm here." Naruto said dangerously.

"I want you," Tsunade started.

"If you even mention Sasuke I'm leaving." Naruto snapped at her. The hokage narrowed her eyes at him.

"This is an order, Uzumaki. You will do as I say or you'll be working d-ranked missions for the rest of your life." Tsunade said. Naruto narrowed his eyes at her. "You will go down to the prison and you will talk to Sasuke until he responds."

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"Because, no one can get him to do anything and we're hoping that you can get a reaction out of him." Tsunade said. Naruto frowned.

"Fine." He said and walked away. He walked straight to the prison and the to Sasuke's cell. He opened the door and went in, grabbing Sasuke by the collar of his shirt and pulled him to his feet. He could see Sasuke's smirk even in the dark cell. "I've been ordered by the hokage to come and see you in hopes that you'll somehow respond to me. If I wasn't ordered here I wouldn't care that you are in here starving yourself or whatever." Naruto growled at him. Sasuke didn't say anything. Naruto shoved him backwards and Sasuke fell onto the metal cot he had been given as a bed. Sasuke looked at him questioningly. Naruto narrowed his eyes at Sasuke.

"Uchiha, here is your food." A guard said setting the food just inside the door. The guard looked at Naruto who glared at him. The guard quickly left. Naruto looked at the food. It was good food, better than the other prisoners got. Naruto growled and shoved the food in Sasuke's lap.

"Eat." He said. Sasuke just stared at the plate of food. "Teme." Naruto growled and went to lean on the wall across the room from the bed. Sasuke stared at the food. "You fucking bastard. Coming back here after all these years." Naruto said softly, venom dripping from every word. Sasuke said nothing. Naruto growled at him. "Say something, damn it." Naruto said. Sasuke stared at his food. "Fine, you can die in here for all I care."

"Tsk, whatever." Sasuke said. Naruto growled angrily and grabbed Sasuke and pulled him off of the bed again. The plate in his lap fell to the ground and food splattered everywhere.

"Really, Teme, I hope you do die. You shouldn't have come back." Naruto spat at him before letting him go and walking out of the cell. Naruto couldn't handle being in the cell. He didn't know if he wanted to punch Sasuke or hug him. Sasuke was his best friend but that was eight years ago. Now he didn't know where he stood with Sasuke. He growled and started walking down the hall to find Neji standing there in his ANBU uniform.

"That was fast, I knew you're be good for him." Neji said. Even though his face was covered, Naruto knew Neji was smirking.

"Tsunade said I had to get a response out of him. That's what I did." Naruto said coldly. Neji looked confused although Naruto couldn't see it. Naruto pushed past Neji and went back to the hokage's office. "Don't make me go back there. I'll go back on my own time." Naruto told her.

"Very well." Tsunade sighed. She had been watching the interaction between the two boys on a surveillance camera. Naruto marched out of the office and went home. Iruka was sitting in the living room on the couch and looked up at Naruto.

"You can go home now." Naruto said. Iruka looked like he wanted to say something but didn't. He nodded and left the apartment. Naruto went into Rei's room and looked at his son. He went in and picked Rei up form his bed.

"Daddy?" Rei yawned.

"Yeah. You're going to sleep with me tonight." Naruto said softly. Rei nodded and cuddled into his daddy's chest. Naruto carried Rei to his room and laid down on his bed with Rei still in his arms. He held Rei tightly against his chest. He didn't know why but seeing Sasuke made him want to be with his son. But then again, Rei might have been exactly like Naruto but he looked almost exactly like Sasuke. Naruto sighed and started stroking Rei's hair. Rei fell asleep and Naruto just watched him.

--

It was every day after that that Tsunade asked Naruto to visit Sasuke. Every day Naruto refused. Finally after a month and a half Naruto found himself standing at the end of the hallway that led to Sasuke's cell. Naruto took a deep breath and forced his foot to take a step. His body moved mechanically after that until he reached the door of Sasuke's cell. Naruto swallowed a lump in his throat and looked into the cell. Sasuke was sitting on his bed in the same position he had been a month and a half ago.

"S-Sasuke?" Naruto said softly. Sasuke didn't answer. "I came on my own this time." Naruto told him. Sasuke didn't say anything for a long time.

"Why did you come?" Sasuke's voice was rough and dry since he hadn't spoken in two and a half months. "You said you wanted me to die. Why did you come?" Sasuke asked again.

"I don't know." Naruto said softly.

"Loser." Sasuke said. Naruto growled.

"I didn't have to come." Naruto snapped at him.

"I didn't want you to. You showed up on your own." Sasuke snarled at him. Naruto growled.

"Fine. I don't even know why I even bothered coming. I knew you were just going to be a bastard." Naruto growled but made no move to leave. Sasuke smirked.

"You want to be here, don't you?" Sasuke asked somewhat mockingly.

"Shut up, bastard." Naruto growled at him. Sasuke smirked and watched Naruto.

"Aw, did you miss me?" Sasuke mocked. Naruto walked off growling under his breath. He walked down to the end of the hall and stopped.

"You should eat something, teme." Naruto called down the hallway. "I can't say I'd miss you when you were gone, but not eating will kill you and giving up that easily isn't your style."

"What do you know of my style?" Sasuke asked angrily.

"Oh right, you're not the same Sasuke anymore." Naruto scoffed and left. The next day Naruto was back at Sasuke's cell.

"You're back." Sasuke smirked mockingly.

"Why did you come back here?" Naruto asked glaring into the cell.

"Why are you so upset?" Sasuke asked.

"You're not the same Sasuke anymore." Naruto told him. "We've been getting along just fine here without you. I'm sure you've been just as fine without being in the village. You've severed all ties with pretty much everyone here aside from me. Did you come to burn that bridge too? Because if you did, you might as well start that fire jutsu you love so much and burn this bridge." Naruto growled at him.

"Are you willing to give up this bond?" Sasuke asked. Naruto scoffed.

"Tsk. I gave it up three years ago when I stopped searching for you." Naruto said coldly. He then saw a flicker of emotion in Sasuke's eyes. "You can't give it up, can you?" Naruto smirked. "You've become a monster and our bond is the only thing that reminds you that you're human. You don't like the Sasuke you've become and you're so desperate to hold onto the one thing that might bring you back to the Sasuke you should have been. You always thought you were better than everyone." Naruto said.

"Stop!" Sasuke growled, his sharingan flashed and Naruto was caught in an illusion world. Everything inverted colors and Naruto was feeling somewhat nauseous at the swirls. "Shut up, Naruto." Sasuke growled at him.

"You think you're better than all of us. You always have. You're more powerful than most of the shinobi here. You think you're a monster, but you're just human." Naruto said. Sasuke growled and pulled out a kunai and stabbed Naruto in the chest.

"Shut up! I broke this bond." Sasuke said. Throwing senbon and kunai at him

"Then why didn't you kill me?" Naruto asked.

"There were others around protecting you." Sasuke said.

"No, I meant in here." Naruto said looking down at the weapons in his chest, stomach and legs. Sasuke was breathing heavily while Naruto was completely calm. Sasuke looked at the weapons and saw that they had all barely missed a vital point. "You can't kill me, Sasuke. You want this bond for some stupid and twisted reason you want this."

"Shut up! Shut up! You don't know anything!" Sasuke screamed as if he were the one being pierced with shinobi weapons.

"Then kill me, Sasuke." Naruto said calmly. Sasuke was gasping and clutching at his chest.

"What are you doing, Naruto?" Sasuke asked.

"You can't break it because you don't want to. That's why it hurts so much. You're trying to cut out a piece of yourself." Naruto said. Sasuke threw more weapons at him, all missing a vital point just barely.

"You think you're a piece of me?" Sasuke growled at him.

"No, but I represent what a piece of you wishes you could be." Naruto said. Sasuke screamed and cried out in pain. Naruto watched him calmly.

"Daddy!" A distant voice called. Sasuke and Naruto froze.

"Daddy?" Sasuke whispered. He let out a pained scream as he threw one last kunai and it hit Naruto square in the heart. Naruto fell and the jutsu was broken. Sasuke looked up to see Naruto unconscious on the floor with a small child shaking him viciously.

"Daddy! Daddy, wake up!" The boy yelled. Sasuke gasped and felt like he couldn't breath. He moved to a corner and pressed his back into the wall as hard as he could wishing it would swallow him. He brought his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms tightly around them. He felt his body shaking and he couldn't stop it.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled running down the hall to Naruto's side. Sasuke was mumbling. Sakura could make out most of the words.

"It wouldn't break. He wouldn't let me break it. I had to do it. I had to do it. It wouldn't break." Sasuke kept mumbling.

"Sasuke, what did you do?" Sakura growled as her hands started glowing.

"I had to. I had to do it. He wouldn't let me break it. I had to do it." Sasuke mumbled. Sakura glared at Sasuke.

"Sasuke, what did you do?" She asked a little firmer.

"Daddy! Wake up!" The boy yelled.

"I had to." Sasuke said.

"What did you do?" Sakura screamed at him.

"I killed him!" Sasuke screamed painfully and started crying. Sakura saw the sharingan flash in Sasuke's eyes. Rei looked up at Sakura in horror.

"I need a medic!" Sakura screamed down the hallway. "Shikamaru, get Rei out of here!" Sakura ordered.

"Sakura, what's wrong with daddy?" Rei asked. Shikamaru came running down the hall. "Sakura?" Rei asked. "No! Daddy! Daddy!" Rei screamed as Shikamaru picked him up and carried him away. Two medic nins came running in and knelt down next to Naruto and placed him on a stretcher. They carried Naruto out while Sakura went into Sasuke's cell.

"Sasuke." Sakura said softly.

'I had to do it. I had to do it." Sasuke kept whispering to himself.

"Sasuke he's not dead." Sakura said. "It was the sharingan." Sasuke was shaking.

"I had to do it." Sasuke whispered to himself. Sakura sighed and stood up to leave. "I'm sorry." Sasuke said softly. Sakura looked at him. "I'm sorry, Naruto." Sasuke said softly. Sakura left him and went to the hospital to check on Naruto.


	3. Chapter 3

DON'T OWN, BOY LOVE and all that other stuff. now to Chapter 3!

* * *

Naruto was unconscious in the hospital for a month. Sasuke stayed in pretty much the same position and mumbling the same thing. Sakura came in every day to tell Sasuke that Naruto wasn't dead but Sasuke never heard her.

"What happened?" Naruto asked softly. Rei shot up form his chair and looked at his daddy.

"Daddy?" Rei asked.

"Hey, Rei." Naruto smiled. Rei started crying and climbed on the bed and clung to Naruto. Rei cried into Naruto's chest.

"Don't leave me, Daddy." Rei cried.

"Never, Rei." Naruto said.

"I thought you were going to leave me." Rei cried. Naruto looked around slightly confused. How long had he been out? Sakura entered the room with a bag of liquid for the iv drip.

"Sakura?" Naruto asked. Sakura gasped and nearly dropped the bag as she looked at Naruto. Her eyes filled with tears as she went to his side. "How long was I out?"

"A month." Sakura said. "We thought we were going to lose you." Naruto paled slightly as he looked at her.

"Really that long?" Naruto said.

"What happened to you? Sasuke has been having a breakdown." Sakura said.

"His sharingan flashed and then everything was weird and swirly. I remember I was really calm and he was freaking out. I don't remember much that happened when I was in there." Naruto said.

"Was that man Sasuke?" Rei asked. Naruto stiffened. "Sasuke is a bad man."

"He's just confused." Naruto said. Rei's grip tightened on his daddy.

"Promise you won't go back to talk to him." Rei said.

"Rei," Naruto sighed.

"Promise me." Rei said tightening his grip again.

"I'm sorry, kiddo, but I can't." Naruto sighed.

"What if he kills you for real?" Rei cried.

"He can't." Naruto said. Sakura looked at him a little confused.

"Just because he's in prison doesn't mean he can't kill you." Sakura said. Naruto shook his head.

"He can't do it. Physically can't bring himself to sever his last tie to the world." Naruto said softly. Sakura looked confused.

"What?" She asked. Naruto sighed.

"He couldn't do it." Naruto said. "He couldn't kill me." Sakura frowned. She was somewhat jealous that even after all these years Naruto was still the most important person in Sasuke's mind.

"Naruto!" Tsunade said coming into the hospital room. "You're awake, thank god. You had us worried for a while." Tsunade said. Naruto nodded.

"Why are you here, Tsunade?" Naruto asked. Tsunade looked at the ground. Naruto always knew when she was wanting something from him.

"I need you to go back." Tsunade said.

"No!" Rei shouted slightly horrified at the idea. His daddy was the strongest person he knew and this Sasuke had put him in a coma for a month without even trying. Now Rei understood why people made Sasuke sound like a bad person, because he was evil. Tsunade, Sakura and Naruto all looked at Rei. "Don't make him go." Rei cried.

"I'm sorry, baby, but your daddy has to go." Tsunade said. Rei shook his head.

"I won't let him." Rei cried. "What if the bad man hurts Daddy again?" Rei asked tightening his grip on Naruto.

"I'll go." Naruto said. Rei shook his head and started crying harder. "I promise he won't hurt me."

"How do you know?" Rei asked through his sobs.

"Because I do. You trust me, right?" Naruto asked. Rei sniffled and nodded.

"I want to come with you." Rei said.

"Absolutely not!" Tsunade said.

"Yes." Rei said.

"Don't worry about him. I'll keep him safe." Naruto said.

"I can't allow it." Tsunade said.

"Then I'm not going back." Naruto said. Tsunade sighed.

"If anything happens to either of you, it's your life." Tsunade threatened. Naruto smiled and nodded.

"Don't worry." Naruto told her. Naruto changed out of his hospital gown into his normal clothes. "Come on, squirt." Naruto said picking up Rei and heading out of the hospital. Naruto could feel Rei shaking slightly as they got to the prison.

"Daddy?" Rei whispered as Naruto stopped at the front doors of the prison building. Naruto tightened his grip on Rei.

"You'll be okay." Naruto told him.

"I'm more scared for you." Rei said. Naruto kissed his cheek and smiled.

"I'll be just fine." Naruto said. "I promise he's not going to hurt either one of us. And I never go back on my word." Naruto said. Rei took a deep breath and nodded his head. Naruto started walking and slowly they found themselves in front of Sasuke's cell.

"Daddy." Rei whispered. Naruto tightened his grip on his son and opened the door to the cell.

"Sasuke?" Naruto whispered.

"Stop it. You're dead." Sasuke said softly.

"I'm not. That was in the sharingan, Sasuke." Naruto said. Rei stiffened at the mention of Sharingan.

"I killed you." Sasuke whispered. "If it was sharingan it wouldn't hurt."

"Does it hurt?" Naruto asked. Sasuke nodded.

"Why do you do it?" Sasuke asked.

"Do what?" Naruto asked.

"Hurt me." Sasuke said. Naruto looked a little shocked.

"That pain means you're human." Naruto said. "Is that why you came back?" Sasuke looked up at Naruto and then looked at Rei. Sasuke felt a clenching in his chest. Sasuke looked delirious as he looked at them. Naruto wanted to go and wrap his arms around Sasuke and comfort him or something. "Why did you come back, Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"Stop it, you're dead." Sasuke said.

"Sasuke." Naruto said.

"Stop!" Sasuke screamed out painfully. He gripped his head tightly and started shaking. Naruto set Rei down and took a step towards Sasuke. "Don't! Stop it!" Sasuke screamed at Naruto. "I killed you! I broke you!" Sasuke cried out painfully. Rei felt confused. This was not the same Sasuke that everyone talks about. Everyone talked about Sasuke as if her were a god. This man looked pitiful and broken. He was just as his daddy said, human.

"Daddy, is this really Sasuke Uchiha?" Rei asked quietly. Sasuke froze and Naruto looked at Rei. "It doesn't look very much like him. Everyone always talks about how great he was even if he was a bad person. This guy looks pathetic." Rei said. Sasuke growled and Naruto stood between Sasuke and Rei. Sasuke could see the foxy smiled on the small boy.

"Why are you here, Naruto?" Sasuke growled his sharingan flashing at the blonde. Rei whimpered and hid behind Naruto.

"Tsunade sent me." Naruto said. "Don't worry; you're just a mission to me now. You severed our bonds the last time I was in here." Naruto said. He picked Rei up and left. Sasuke sat there and thought about what Naruto had said.

"_You are nothing. Not even Naruto wants to be your friend and he's friends with everyone. You've successfully destroyed everything you ever had. You're so pathetic. You were once the greatest ninja in the world and now look at you. You're so pathetic. You broke the only bond that you still had connected to anything in this world. You're just a pathetic nobody."_ His mind shouted at him.

"Shut up." Sasuke cried softly.

"_You're a monster. You've finally become the one thing you never wanted to be" _there was a pause _"Itachi."_

"No. I'm not." Sasuke cried.

"_Just like he wanted. He wanted you to turn into this monster; he wanted you to destroy your life."_ The voice said.

"Shut up! Shut up!" Sasuke cried loudly.

"_You've lost everything in your life. You've destroyed everything. You are a monster."_ The voice said.

"No!" Sasuke screamed. He felt a stabbing pain through his chest and let out a pained, hear-wrenching scream. Naruto and Rei heard it as they left the prison building.

"Daddy, what was that?" Rei asked. Naruto knew it was Sasuke but didn't say anything because he knew if he opened his mouth he would make a noise pretty similar to Sasuke's broken screaming. Sasuke was broken and Naruto was responsible for it.

--

"You called for me, hokage?" An ANBU asked as they appeared in the office. Tsunade looked up at the pure white dove mask.

"I have a mission for you." Tsunade said. The ANBU nodded to show they were listening. "You and your partner will be watching Sasuke Uchiha. I am letting him out of the prison today so that he can live in the Uchiha estate where he belongs. You will not let him leave your sight and under no circumstances are you to reveal yourself to him, the same goes for your partner. This is a trial period and will only last for one month. Because of the fact that the Uchiha has made no attempt to escape from his prison cell even with the minimal security, I have come to the conclusion that he has come back to stay rather than to destroy the village. If his behavior does not change over this month he will remain at the Uchiha estate with an ANBU guard. I am telling you this so that you can relay the information to the prisoner when you go and get him." The ANBU nodded. "You are dismissed." She said. The ANBU disappeared. The dove ANBU reappeared on the prison rooftop next to a shorter person in ANBU uniform with a wolf mask with two blood red whisker marks on each side.

"You were right. We're guarding him." The dove said. The wolf nodded and they teleported into the prison in front of Sasuke's cell. "Uchiha, you're coming with us." Sasuke looked up at them. His eyes were puffy and red with deep black circles under them. There were tear streaks on his cheeks and his skin was even pale than usual.

"W-what?" Sasuke stuttered hoarsely. It wasn't a surprise he sounded like that, he had been screaming for the past week.

"We're taking you to your estate where you will live for a trial period of one month. If after the month you are considered to no longer be a threat to the village you will be able to stay there permanently with an ANBU guard." The dove said. Sasuke looked at the two ANBU. The dove was tall and well built Sasuke could see black hair sticking out form behind the mask and the ANBU tattoo on the tan skin of his left arm. The wolf was slightly shorter than the dove, maybe and inch or two, fairly thin but Sasuke could see muscles hidden underneath the pale skin with shoulder-length strawberry blonde hair. Sasuke nodded and stood up on shaky legs. Before he fell, both ANBU caught his arms. Sasuke felt warmth radiating off of both of them.

"Thanks." Sasuke muttered as he straightened up. Although he missed the warmth of the two ANBU, he wasn't about to let them carry him he was still an Uchiha.

"Lets get going then." The wolf said. The dove nodded and they started walking. Sasuke followed closely behind them. They got to the entrance of the prison and the two ANBU stopped.

"We're gong to teleport to your estate to save you the dignity of having to walk across the village. Even with two ANBU we couldn't guarantee your safety." The dove said. Sasuke nodded somewhat thankful for that. In a flash they were standing inside the Uchiha complex. Sasuke looked around for a second and the ANBU started walking towards the main house. Sasuke followed them hoping that he wouldn't have a mental breakdown in their presence. They made it into the main house and Sasuke ran to his room, nearly knocking the two ANBU over, and shut the door before he started crying.

"_You're so weak. Look at you sitting there on the floor crying. You're so pathetic. Even that kid knew you were pitiful. Naruto moved on with his life. He had a son. What did you do? Come back here to destroy the only good thing that ever happened to you. Now you have two ANBU watching your every move. They're going to hear you like this. They're going to know how pitiful you really are. You're a disgrace to the Uchiha clan. You were a disappointment to your father, you ran in fear when Itachi murdered your clan, you abandoned your home to seek power and now return to destroy whatever fragments had remained. You're despicable."_ The voice in Sasuke's head told him. Sasuke was too tried to force the voice to stop. He went to sleep hearing the belittling voice echoing in his head. A few hours later there was a knock on the door.

"Uchiha." A voice on the other side said. Sasuke recognized it at the dove ANBU's voice.

"What?" Sasuke asked softly.

"If you are hungry there is a meal waiting for you in your kitchen." The dove said. Sasuke nodded even though he knew the ANBU couldn't see him.

"I'll be there in a minute." Sasuke said. He heard the ANBU walk off and then he slipped out of his room to go to the bathroom so that he could wash his face a bit. After that he went to the kitchen where he found a table full of all of his favorite foods.

"We didn't know what you wanted, but since we were told this is the stuff you like we made it all for you." The wolf said.

"Plus you haven't eaten in a while, so we figured you might be hungry." The dove said. Sasuke looked at them.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Sasuke asked.

"Orders." The dove shrugged. "If you'd rather us just shadow you we'd be fine with that." He added nonchalantly. Sasuke shook his head.

"It's nice to have people around." Sasuke said so softly the two ANBU almost didn't hear him.

"Do you not have any friends left?" The wolf asked. Sasuke shook his head.

"That bond was broken." Sasuke said sadly.

"Are you sad?" The dove asked.

"He was my best friend. He fought for years to get me back and now he doesn't want anything to do with me." Sasuke said. The two ANBU nodded.

"Do you think he's sad too?" The wolf asked.

"No. He has his own life now. He has his family to think about." Sasuke shook his head. The two ANBU looked at each other and then at Sasuke.

"Wait, who are you talking about?" The wolf asked.

"Naruto Uzumaki." Sasuke said.

"Uzumaki doesn't have a family." The dove said. Sasuke looked at him very confused. Did this man not know?

"Then who was the little boy calling him daddy?" Sasuke asked.

"Oh, Rei?" The wolf asked. "Yeah, I guess that could be his family. Naruto adopted that kid after finding him while on a mission. Poor boy had no home or family to speak of and was half dead when Naruto found him."

"So he didn't actually have him?" Sasuke asked.

"Last I checked men couldn't have babies." The dove said. Sasuke almost smiled at that and nodded.

"I assumed that he had been married or something." Sasuke said. The Wolf shook his head.

"No, Uzumaki was too busy searching for you to ever get married. Everyone was surprised when he stopped looking for you. He was very dedicated, you know." The wolf said. Sasuke scoffed.

"Tsk, fat chance now. I'll be lucky if he even looks at me." Sasuke sighed. The two ANBU said nothing after that and Sasuke finished his meal in silence while the ANBU watched him. When the meal was over Sasuke looked at the two. "Thank you." He said.

"For what?" The dove asked.

"For treating me like a human rather than a monster." Sasuke said. The two ANBU nodded and Sasuke stood up and left. He walked down the hall and then quickly turned and went back to the kitchen. "Do you two need a room or will you be switching with other ANBU later?" Sasuke asked.

"We're the only ANBU who will be watching you during this trial. If you have a room that you would like to give up, then we will take it." The wolf said.

"Just one room?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes, we'll take shifts watching you." The dove said. Sasuke nodded. He showed the two ANBU one of the guest bedrooms and the wolf decided to take the first watch. The dove went into the room and shut the door. The wolf followed Sasuke into his bedroom and Sasuke turned to look at the wolf.

"Don't mind me. Just carry on like you normally would." The wolf said waving for him to continue.

"Well, it's kind of awkward to change in front of you." Sasuke said. The wolf laughed.

"Trust me, Uchiha, you don't have anything I haven't already seen before. Besides, I'm not really interested in whatever you have anyway." The wolf said. Sasuke blushed slightly and changed quickly. Sasuke looked at the wolf leaning against the wall across from his bed.

"Are you going to stand there all night?" Sasuke asked.

"Probably." The wolf said.

"If I run away it's because I have nothing to keep me here, not because I'm a threat to the village." Sasuke told the wolf.

"If you have nothing here, then why did you come back?" The wolf asked. Sasuke didn't answer. He turned off the light and started to fall asleep. He could feel the wolf standing there but suddenly felt the dove disappear form his house.

"Your partner left." Sasuke told the wolf.

"I know. He had something he needed to deal with. But I'm watching you right now so don't worry about it." The wolf said like it was a common occurrence. Sasuke nodded and tried to go to sleep. He thought about the two ANBU guarding him. They were so calm and easy to talk to. He felt like they already knew him and wouldn't judge him. Their conversation at dinner was the easiest conversation he had had in a long time. He remembered the other times he was with a group of people and how different these two were form everyone else. First was team 7. Kakashi was always late and didn't give a damn about anything most of the time. Sakura was always fawning over him and it got annoying. Naruto was always acting like an idiot and Sasuke always had to save him. Next was with Orochimaru and Kabuto. Kabuto was just annoying and Orochimaru was a sick pedophiliac snake monster type thing. The last time was with his team of Orochimaru's human experiments, team hebi. Karin was worse than Sakura. Juugo was kind of normal unless he got mad. And Suigetsu was irritating. Never had he been with two people that he wanted to be with and hang out with and talk to. But these two ANBU, although they were just following orders, made Sasuke feel like a normal person and it felt really good.

"You never told me your name." Sasuke told the wolf.

"You can just call me Tomomi. My partner is Mitsuho." The wolf said.

"Tomomi, huh? That's good for just making it up." Sasuke yawned.

"Go to sleep, Uchiha." The wolf said.

"Call me Sasuke." Sasuke said.

"Very well. Go to sleep, Sasuke." The wolf said. Sasuke nodded and tried to fall asleep, but still couldn't. When Sasuke felt the dove's presence come back he easily fell asleep. Something about having the two of them there calmed him, but it seemed like he needed both of them there to go to sleep. It was the first night since Itachi murdered his entire family that Sasuke didn't have nightmares.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4!! anyway this is again where i explain that i do not own NARUTO at all. I do own a set of the dvds for the first season though. (YAY ME!) there is also boy/boy love. no descriptive lemon but whatevs.

* * *

"He's back." Sasuke said as he placed a card down on the pile. Sasuke and Tomomi, the wolf, were playing cards. Unfortunately the only card game Sasuke had was a kid's game where you had to get rid of all your cards by piling them up either to match the color or number of the top card in the pile. Tomomi looked up as Mitsuho walked into the room.

"It's your turn to watch him." Tomomi said. They had worked out a schedule over the first week and now on week three it was like clockwork. Mitsuho laughed.

"You make it sound like we're babysitting or something." Mitsuho said.

"I don't care what it sounds like, I'm tired." Tomomi said walking out of the living room and down the hall to the guest room. There was a knock on the door. Sasuke and Mitsuho looked up.

"Who would be coming here?" Sasuke asked.

"Well answer the door. It's your house." Mitsuho said. Sasuke nodded and opened the door.

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked slightly shocked.

"Hey." Naruto smiled. Sasuke was confused.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, I went to the prison and they said you had moved to your house so I'm here." Naruto shrugged.

"No I mean, why are you here? I moved in like three weeks ago. And you stopped talking to me a week before I moved." Sasuke said.

"Yeah, well I got sent on a mission and got back last night. But I was too tired to visit you then so I came today." Naruto smiled.

"But we're not friends any more." Sasuke said almost sadly.

"Yeah, about that." Naurto said scratching the back of his head. "Can we just forget about the whole not being friends thing and get back to being friends?"

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, I did spend five years trying to get you to come back. I would hate for all that work to go to waste." Naruto smiled. Sasuke almost smiled. Naruto was the only person who had actually gotten Sasuke to smile and that was once a long time ago. But since then, Naruto tried his hardest to get Sasuke to smile again.

"Yeah. We were best friends before. It would be a shame to ruin it." Sasuke said softly. Naruto looked at the ANBU standing behind Sasuke.

"Is it okay if I take him out? I promise I won't get him into any trouble." Naruto said. The dove masked man nodded. Naruto smiled and took Sasuke's hand. "Come on then." He smiled and drug Sasuke away.

"You know that's dangerous." The wolf said. The dove turned and looked at him.

"Yeah I guess." The dove shrugged.

"What if the hokage sees?" The wolf asked.

"It's not like she can do anything about it." The dove said and walked off. Sure enough as soon as Naruto returned Sasuke to his house, the Dove was called to the Hokage's office.

"What the hell was that?" Tsunade asked.

"He needed to get out of the house and away from ANBU. He needed to be treated like a normal person for once rather than being constantly watched like a terrorist." The ANBU answered.

"It will not happen again." Tsunade told him.

"Yes, Hokage." The dove nodded.

"I was thinking of putting you as his permanent guardian." Tsunade said. The dove shook his head.

"You know that I can't do that." The dove said.

"If you were allowed to maintain your normal life?" Tsunade asked.

"Normal?" The dove laughed.

"For you at least." Tsunade said. The dove shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but I can't." The dove said.

"Very well." Tsunade sighed. The dove disappeared and reappeared in Sasuke's house. Sasuke was sitting at the kitchen table waiting for him.

"How did it go, Mitsuho?" Sasuke asked pouring a cup of tea for the dove. Sasuke had done many things to try and get the tow ANBU guarding him to take off their masks, but never succeeded. He smirked at the memory of him and Naruto and Sakura trying to get Kakashi's mask off. Something about masks felt unsettling to Sasuke. It felt like the person was trying to hide something.

"It was okay. You're not allowed to leave again though." Mitsuho told Sasuke.

"Thank you for letting me go out with Naruto." Sasuke said. The dove looked at him. "He was my best friend and he still means a lot to me. It was nice to see him."

"Next week," Mitsuho started and then stopped. He cleared his throat a couple of times. "Tomomi and I are leaving next week. You'll get a new and permanent ANBU guard. I don't know who it will be." Mitsuho said softly.

"I hope he'll be as cool as you and Tomomi." Sasuke said. Mitsuho's head dropped a little. "We've gotten pretty close over this month, haven't we?"

"I guess." Mitsuho said.

"You and me more so than Tomomi and I." Sasuke said. Mitsuho nodded. "I'll miss you when you leave." Sasuke said softly.

"I could never leave you." Mitsuho whispered so softly Sasuke didn't even hear it. He looked up at Sasuke. "Why did you come back, Sasuke?"

"I can't tell you." Sasuke said. The wolf and the dove both knew Sasuke had come back for a specific reason, but Sasuke never told them what it was.

"I'm going to sleep." Mitsuho said. Sasuke nodded.

"I should get to sleep as well." Sasuke said. The two stood up and went to their respective rooms for a good night's rest. One week passed by too quickly and before Sasuke knew it, he was being introduced to his new ANBU guard, Neji. Neji didn't wear his mask. Sasuke didn't know it was because the dove and wolf had both asked Tsunade that the ANBU keep his mask off because it made Sasuke uneasy.

"Guess we're going to be spending lots of quality time together." Neji said flatly.

"I guess." Sasuke nodded. He already missed Tomomi and Mitsuho.

"You'll see them again." Neji said.

"Yes, but I won't know it." Sasuke sighed.

"True, but if you put it in your mind that anyone could be Tomomi or Mitsuho, then it would make your life a whole lot more enjoyable." Neji said. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him. "If you assume everyone could be your friend then you would stop suspecting them and be a lot nicer towards them and then they would be nicer to you."

"Yeah, you are a bit of a bastard." Naruto said from the doorway. Neji and Sasuke looked at him. The same thought went through their heads: how did I not sense him coming? Naruto smiled at them and stepped into the house. "You know anyone could just break in here with your door wide open like that."

"Yeah, but you'll scare them away. You're twenty one and still have no fashion sense." Sasuke shook his head at his friend.

"I just came to see if I could steal you for a while." Naruto said looking over at Neji. Neji narrowed his eyes at Naruto.

"I believe Mitsuho was penalized for allowing Sasuke to leave with you." Neji said. Naruto laughed. And shrugged.

"You can come too if you want. I was going to make the bastard treat me to ramen though and I know that's not really your thing." Naruto said.

"I'll gladly join you." Neji said. Sasuke looked at Neji.

"I'm not paying for you." Sasuke said.

"Don't worry, you'll need all your money for Naruto." Neji told him. Naruto laughed and grabbed Sasuke's hand.

"Come on, bastard." Naruto smiled and started walking. Sasuke easily fell into step with Naruto and Neji followed behind him. "So, how is having the prick as your guard?"

"I just got him today." Sasuke said. Naruto laughed.

"It sounds like he's a pet or something." Naruto said ant then turned to look back at Neji who was frowning. Naruto smiled at him.

"Don't insult me or I'll just take Sasuke back to his house and not let you hang out with him." Neji growled. Sasuke and Naruto's eyes widened at the thought.

"I'll be good, I promise." Naruto said.

"So, where is your kid?" Sasuke asked.

"Hmm? Oh, he's training with Kakashi." Naruto said. Sasuke scoffed.

"Kakashi? What can that old pervert teach him?" Sasuke asked.

"Not much, but since he got injured on his last mission Tsunade is making him take a year off so he's been training Rei while I go on mission and train to become hokage." Naruto said.

"I can always train him. It's not like I'll be able to do anything other than sit in my house all day." Sasuke said.

"Nope." Neji said. Naruto laughed and Sasuke looked at the two of them.

"Neji tried helping train Rei once. When they were trying meditating Rei got bored and cut Neji's hair." Naruto said trying not to laugh. Sasuke smirked and Neji shuddered at the memory.

"Daddy!" Rei called running up to them. Kakashi was following behind with Sakura. Naruto smiled and picked his son up.

"Aren't you supposed to be training?" Naruto asked. Rei shook his head.

"No, Sakura came and said we needed to take a break." Rei said.

"You don't have as much stamina as your daddy does, Rei. You can't train for hours at a time like Naruto and Kakashi use to." Sakura said. Kakashi shrugged and pulled out his book.

"Well, how about you join us for some lunch, huh?" Naruto asked.

"Ramen!" Rei said excitedly. Sasuke scoffed but it sounded almost like it might have been a laugh.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"You would have a kid who loves Ramen as much as you." Sasuke smirked. "That or he would hate ramen." Rei gasped at the thought.

"Who could hate ramen?" He asked.

"Uptight bastard and prick protégés from prestigious clans." Naruto said looking over his shoulder at Sasuke and Neji. The two men rolled their eyes at him. Rei laughed as Naruto entered the Ramen stand followed by Sasuke then Neji and finally Kakashi and Sakura. Naruto sat down and put Rei on the stool next to him. Sasuke sat down on the other side of Naruto. Neji sat next to Sasuke, Sakura sat next to Rei and Kakashi next to Sakura. Rei immediately ordered ramen for everyone. Naruto and Rei had inhaled three bowls each by the time everyone else finished their first.

"So, Naruto, how is your training coming?" Kakashi asked.

"Alright I guess. It's kind of boring because the old hag is always passed out and never teaches me anything. I just sit there and stare at her. She tries to get me to do some paperwork, but Shizune always catches her." Naruto shrugged. "I wish she would just finish my training so that I can become hokage and stay here rather than going on missions all the time."

"Yeah, me too." Rei said. Naruto smiled and pat Rei's head affectionately.

"You're on missions a lot?" Sasuke asked. Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, I get to be home about a week before I'm off again. Unless of course I'm in the hospital then it's longer." Naruto said with a smile.

"Oh." Sasuke said.

"Yeah, it's tough, but I need the money. Once I'm hokage it'll be better though because I won't have to be gone all the time." Naruto said scratching his head.

"Then you can spend more time with me." Rei said. Naruto smiled and nodded. Sasuke thought about what it would be like to have to always be gone. Naruto finally got something that kind of resembled a family and he had to constantly leave it behind. He remembered when Itachi would leave all the time and he would worry about him returning safely. On one had he understood how Rei must feel being alone like that. His family had all been killed and Sasuke was left to fend for himself. But Sasuke knew his family wouldn't come back. He had no idea what it would feel like to never know if your family was coming back alive or not coming back at all.

"When do you become hokage?" Sasuke asked.

"Whenever my training is finished. Who knows when that will be." Naruto sighed. Sasuke gulped knowing that what he was about to say would probably upset Naruto.

"If you need any money I can lend you some." Sasuke said. Naruto looked at him.

"I don't need your charity." Naruto said dangerously.

"Then don't think of it as charity. I mean, I'm not going to use most of it so it's just going to sit there. It would be better than having to go on missions all the time." Sasuke said. Naruto growled. Sasuke saw Rei staring at his daddy expectantly. Sasuke knew the Naruto wouldn't want to have the money given to him, but Sasuke wanted to do something for him. So, instead of letting Naruto think of an excuse to decline, Sasuke decided to play the guilt card and ask Rei. "What do you think, Rei? You would like your daddy to be home more wouldn't you?" Sasuke could feel the others staring at him almost in shock. Naruto growled lowly and stared into his empty ramen bowl.

"I would." Rei said shaking his head. "I wish daddy could stay home all the time."

"Fine, I'll take your god damn money." Naruto growled at him. "But it's just a loan, I'll pay you back when I become hokage." Naruto added. Sasuke frowned at that. He felt kind of insulted. He was trying to be nice and Naruto couldn't accept it. Naruto huffed and left the stand. Sasuke, not thinking, ran after him. Neji quickly ran after Sasuke. Kakshi sighed.

"Lets get back to training." Kakshi told Rei. Rei nodded knowing that this was something he didn't understand and shouldn't get involved.

"Naruto!" Sasuke screamed as he was running after Naruto. Naruto finally stopped when he reached the training grounds. "Naruto." Sasuke said as he also stopped. Sasuke reached out to him and Naruto moved away and screamed in frustration. "What's wrong, Naruto?"

"You, Sasuke!" Naruto yelled at him. "God damn it, you're so fucking frustrating." Naruto glared at him.

"I was just trying to help you out, you're my best friend." Sasuke said.

"No, it's not just that." Naruto snapped at him. "First you're nice then your mean then nice. I don't even know where I stand with you half the time. Why did you offer me the money?" he asked softly.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"Come on, Sasuke, I'm not stupid. No one offers that much money unless they're expecting something back." Naruto said. Sasuke frowned.

"I don't want anything back. I want to lend you the money because I understand how it feels to not have your parents around. I thought you understood that too." Sasuke said. Naruto growled. Sasuke sighed. "Lets spar." He said.

"What? Why?" Naruto asked.

"Because you're obviously worked up about something and it's not just me offering you money. Sparing helps me work out my frustration." Sasuke said.

"Fine, only taijutsu, I don't need you using your sharingan and putting me in the hospital for another month." Naruto said. Sasuke winced remembering the last time he had used his sharingan. They started fighting. They didn't think about anything but beating the hell out of each other. It was just raw power. There were no premeditated strikes, no form or morbid beauty that came out of their fights. Buy the end of the fight they were laying on the ground breathing heavily. Naruto laughed.

"What's so funny?" Sasuke asked trying to calm his breath.

"I won." Naruto smiled. "I got more its and you went down first."

"You won by one scratch and two seconds." Sasuke scoffed.

"It's the fist time it happened though." Naruto said. Sasuke looked over at him. Naruto was on his back, his jacket had been thrown off in the middle of the fight and his shirt was pretty torn up, revealing firm, tan skin underneath. Naruto's eyes were closed as the sun shone brightly on his face and he was smiling tiredly but at the same time extremely contentedly. "Sasuke, why did you come back?" Naruto asked.

"I think you know." Sasuke said softly.

"I want to hear you say it." Naruto told him.

"It doesn't matter. I'm here now." Sasuke said.

"You ever wonder what Shikamaru does on days when it isn't cloudy?" Naruto asked looking up at the cloudless sky.

"I don't care that much to think about it." Sasuke answered plainly.

"There you go being a bastard again." Naruto said.

"Do you know who Mitsuho and Tomomi are?" Sasuke asked.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"Well, Neji told me that I should just start acting like everyone was Mitsuho and Tomomi so I would be nicer to people. But I'd rather know who they really are." Sasuke said. Naruto laughed.

"You would say something like that. You are always looking for a reason to be a bastard to everyone. Why be nice to everyone when you only have to be nice to two people." Naruto said.

"Whatever." Sasuke said.

"Why do you want to know who they are so badly?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Because I got really close to them. They treated me like a normal person and I still kind of want to be friends with them." Sasuke admitted.

"If I did know who they were, I still wouldn't be able to tell you." Naruto said.

"Right." Sasuke sighed.

"You really miss them?" Naruto asked.

"Don't make fun of me." Sasuke told him.

"I wasn't going to. It's just that I didn't realize how close you had gotten to them." Naruto said.

"Is it so strange?" Sasuke asked. Naruto laughed and looked over at him.

"For me? No. For an ice princess stick up his ass bastard? Yes." Naruto said. Sasuke growled.

"I told you," Sasuke started.

"You're not the same Sasuke. Yeah, yeah." Naruto said. He rolled on his side to face Sasuke. "Which one are you going to miss more? Mitsuho or Tomomi?" He asked.

"I'll miss them for different reasons. Mitsuho for not treating me like I'm some fragile, insane person that goes off if you happen to mention the wrong thing around me. Tomomi because he listened to me and always gave me good advice." Sasuke said staring at the sky and picking at the grass absentmindedly. "They would tell me everything like it is, not what he thought I wanted to hear. They treated me like an equal rather than a criminal. They were always watching me but also respected my privacy when I really needed it. I've never been that close to anyone other than you." Sasuke said.

"Hey, don't start trying to replace me." Naruto said with a smile. Sasuke smiled slightly at him.

"I don't think I could even get rid of you long enough to replace you." Sasuke said. Naruto laughed and sat up.

"Damn right." Naruto said. A dove flew over them and Sasuke smirked.

"Even when they're gone they're still watching me. I saw a wolf this morning." Sasuke said. Naruto smiled.

"Well, I need to get going. I'm sure Kakashi is tired of babysitting and I did promise Rei some exclusive father/son time." Naruto said standing up and brushing the dirt off of his pants.

"Yeah, I'm sure Neji is tired of sitting out here watching me." Sasuke said.

"It was nice of him to let us spar though." Naruto said. Sasuke chuckled a bit.

"I think he was just hoping you would kill me so he wouldn't have to watch me any more." Sasuke said. Naruto smiled.

"Yeah, I did win this time." He said. "I probably could have killed you if I wasn't holding back."

"I would have won if I wasn't holding back." Sasuke told him as they started walking to the edge of the training grounds.

"What?" Naruto shouted. Sasuke smirked and said nothing. Naruto growled. "Whatever, I'll see you later, teme."

"Yeah. Later, dobe." Sasuke said. Naruto ran off towards his apartment and Sasuke started walking towards his house. Neji caught up to him easily and the two walked silently to the Uchiha district.

"I think you're confusing Uzumaki." Neji told Sasuke when they reached the main house. Sasuke looked at him.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"You're sending mixed signals." Neji told him plainly. "If you're in love with him you just need to tell him so he doesn't get so confused any more." Sasuke looked shocked at what Neji had said.

"I'm not in love with him." Sasuke told Neji.

"Oh? Did I misinterpret it then?" Neji asked almost condescendingly.

"Yes. He's my best friend. Yes there is some sort of attraction, if you will, but not like that. There aren't many people I can stand so you would have to be one hell of a person to become my best friend." Sasuke said. Neji shook his head.

"What if you were mistaking friendship for love this whole time?" Neji asked.

"That's ridiculous. I think I would know if I was in love with someone. Especially if that someone was my best friend." Sasuke shook his head. The idea of him being in love with anyone, more specifically Naruto was just preposterous.

"Think about it, Sasuke. Would you consider me your friend? What about the other members of your team? Are they your friends?" Neji asked.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked scared that he already knew what Neji was implying. Neji sighed.

"You always said that Naruto was your only friend. But you still tolerated and, dare I say, enjoyed the company of others such as myself or your genin team or the rest of the rookie nine." Neji said. Sasuke flinched. "What would the rest of us be then if not your friends?"

"This is stupid. I don't have to explain myself to you Hyugga." Sasuke snarled.

"Then let me tell you exactly what is going on rather than having you try to explain. You're in love with Naruto. Your affections and attractions towards him are deeper than just friendship. You would realize this if you just acknowledged the fat that he's not your only friend and then compare your other friendships to your feelings towards Naruto." Neji said.

"Why do you even care?" Sasuke snapped at him.

"Because he's in love with you. He's not too afraid to admit it, but he is afraid of the rejection he's expecting." Neji said.

"Why do you say he's in love with me?" Sasuke asked.

"You do realize he spent five years searching for you. He adopted a kid who looks just like you. He was always taking missions to far off places in hopes that he might run into you and bring you back. When he wasn't on missions he was training to be stronger to bring you back. You're the first person to acknowledge him and he's loved you for it ever since." Neji said. Sasuke gulped and walked to his room. Sasuke sat on his bed and stared at his feet. Naruto was in love with him. But was he in love with Naruto? He sighed and wet to sleep trying to think of the answer.


	5. Chapter 5

hooray, you made it to the last chapter. thanks for sticking with me this far! i don't own naruto. there is boy/boy action going on and character death in this chappie, soorie kiddies. don't worry, it's not too bad. anyway... onward!

* * *

Naruto was sent on a long mission the next day. Neji watched Sasuke slowly fade in Naruto's absence. Every day Neji would ask if Sasuke figured if he was in love with Naruto or not. Sasuke never had an answer. Neji finally asked him something he was used to Naruto asking him.

"Why did you come back, Sasuke?" Neji asked.

"Because." Sasuke told him. He was pretty sure Neji knew the real reason why Sasuke came back and then Sasuke understood why Neji had asked the question. After that day Neji still asked if Sasuke was in love with Naruto and Sasuke never answered but they both knew what it would have been. Rei came over with Kakashi a few times to train in the Uchiha training grounds. Sasuke grew very fond of Rei. Sure, everyone said he was exactly like his daddy but Sasuke found the quiet, controlled side and saw himself in that.

"Sasuke, when is daddy coming home?" Rei asked one day when they were taking a break from training. They were sitting side by side on the porch looking out into the garden.

"I'm not sure, Rei." Sasuke said.

"I miss him." Rei frowned. It had been almost six months since Naruto had left.

"Yeah." Sasuke said. Rei shifted closer to Sasuke and leaned on him.

"Do you think he's okay?" Rei asked.

"Yeah, he's just fine." Sasuke said. Rei nodded.

"Sasuke, are you really as awesome as everyone says you are?" Rei asked. Sasuke looked down at Rei.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, everyone says you were a genius when you were younger. The best in your class. Then Sakura and Ino use to talk about how cute you were, well, until Sakura and Kakashi started to go out then it was all about how cute Kakashi is. Daddy always talks about you and how you're so strong and stuff. People make you sound like a god or something." Rei said. Sasuke shook his head.

"No, I'm just human." Sasuke said.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. A demon and a god can't be friends." Rei frowned and looked at the ground.

"Demon?" Sasuke asked slightly surprised.

"That's what people call daddy." Rei said. Sasuke sighed.

"Your daddy is not a demon. Don't listen to anything anyone says about that." Sasuke said. Rei shook his head.

"Daddy told me about the fox demon. He says that it kind of makes it true. But he also says that doesn't change who he is because he is Naruto and the fox is the fox." Rei said. Sasuke nodded.

"That's true. Your daddy is kind of special like that though." Sasuke said. Rei looked up at him.

"Do you love my daddy?" Rei asked. Sasuke looked shocked. "You don't have to tell me. But if you do, that's okay, I'll share him with you." Rei said. Sasuke laughed slightly and ruffled Rei's hair.

"We should get back to training." Sasuke said. Rei smiled and jumped up. Sasuke and Rei had been training privately for a month and a half now. It was the only thing Sasuke could do without Neji standing right beside him. It was originally because Neji was afraid of Rei cutting his hair again but then it became kind of a bonding experience because each saw a part of Naruto in the other and they wanted to feel like Naruto was still there. After training Sasuke let Rei sleep in his old room since he had moved into the master bedroom shortly after Neji had started guarding him. Sasuke took a quick shower and went to lay on his bed. But there was an envelope sitting on his pillow. Sasuke opened it and pulled out a piece of paper.

_If you know the answer to my question go to this address. He's coming back tonight. A spare key is in the envelope._

_Neji_

Sasuke read the note ten times just to make sure he read it right the previous nine times. Neji was seriously giving him permission to leave by himself and practically break into Naruto's house to confess his love. Sasuke smiled and read the address that was written at the bottom of the note. It was a pretty nice apartment complex, Sasuke knew because they were fairly close to his house. Sasuke found the key and quickly started running to Naruto's apartment. When he got there, he let himself in and turned on the light so he wouldn't freak Naruto out by sitting in the dark. Sasuke waited for a few hours before someone appeared in the room with him.

"What are you doing here?" A voice Sasuke immediately recognized as Mitsuho asked. Sasuke sat up and turned to face the ANBU.

"I… well… Neji," Sasuke started and then noticed something strange about the dove. Instead of black hair he saw yellow. Sasuke gasped. "So it was you the whole time." Sasuke said. The ANBU said nothing. "But I got them wrong. I thought you were the wolf and Sakura was the dove."

"How long have you known?" He asked.

"Since you two arrived. I wasn't positive but after a couple of days I figured it out." Sasuke said. Moving towards the other.

"Tell me you wanted it to be me. That you wanted Mitsuho to be me." He said.

"Desperately. I was always afraid that you'd take off your mask and it would be someone else." Sasuke said moving closer.

"Tell me that it's me you want." He said.

"Always. It's always been you and only will ever be you." Sasuke said. Stopping in front of him.

"Tell me that you came back for me." He said softly.

"You know I did. You're the only thing that's important to me." Sasuke said. He reached up and pulled the dove mask off of the other's face to see teary blue eyes.

"Tell me that you love me." Naruto breathed out.

"Always have always will. With all my heart, forever and ever." Sasuke told him. Naruto grabbed Sasuke and kissed him.

"I love you." Naruto said into the kiss.

"Sorry, I've been such a confusing bastard." Sasuke said not taking his lips form Naruto's. Naruto laughed and leaned back a bit to look at Sasuke.

"You'll always be a bastard, bastard." Naruto said. Sasuke smiled a genuine smiled and leaned forward and kissed Naruto gently.

"Yeah, but I'll be your bastard now." Sasuke said against Naruto's lips.

"I love you." Naruto smiled.

"I love you so much, Naruto." Sasuke said. They kissed again, this time more demanding. There was a slight battle for dominance in the kiss. Naruto eventually won because he had reached down to stroke Sasuke through his pants. "That's cheating." Sasuke gasped.

"Yeah, but it feels pretty good, huh?" Naruto smirked as he kissed Sasuke's jaw and neck. Sasuke moaned softly.

"Don't tease me." Sasuke growled at him.

"Hmm, actually I think you should be seme this time cause I'm too tired to really do much." Naruto said. Sasuke nodded and grabbed Naruto's legs and wrapped them around his waist and carried Naruto to his bedroom. Somewhere along the way all of their clothes were stripped off. And a few hours later they found themselves laying naked, sticky and sweaty in Naruto's bed.

"I love you." Sasuke said.

"Tell me you won't leave again." Naruto whispered. Sasuke laughed.

"I'm going to be around so much you'll be begging to get rid of me." Sasuke said wrapping his arms around Naruto before they both fell asleep.

--

"You lied." Naruto whispered as he gripped Rei's hand tighter. Rei rubbed his father's back trying to comfort him as they stood before Sasuke's grave. It had been nearly twenty years that they were together before Sasuke was killed protecting Naruto, protecting the sixth hokage. He had died a month ago but this was the first time Naruto had come to the grave.

"Father." Rei said softly. Naruto tried his hardest not to cry but started anyway.

"Even at thirty-nine you're still a crybaby." Konohamaru said walking up to them.

"Even as Hokage you're still a brat." Naruto growled at the seventh hokage. Konohamaru sighed and put his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"You'll see him again." He said softly.

"I know." Naruto said just as softly.

"Shouldn't you be happy for the time you had together?" Rei asked. Naruto nodded and wiped his eyes.

"It's just hard." Naruto said. He looked further down the head stones and saw where Kakashi was buried and Sakura next to him.

"You're not alone, father." Rei said knowing what his father was thinking. Naruto nodded and smiled weakly.

"I know, I have you guys here." Naruto said. The two younger men nodded. "Konohamaru, you have work." Naruto said softly. Konohamaru looked at him and then nodded, he knew Naruto wanted to be alone.

"Yeah, I have stuff to do as well." Rei said. The two younger men walked off and Naruto sat down next to Sasuke's headstone. He pulled off the 'to-go' pack hanging from his shoulder and opened it, pulling out some ramen.

"I brought you some ramen. I know it's not your favorite, but I figured we could share." Naruto said softly. He started eating the ramen and occasionally poured some of the broth on the ground. "You told me you wouldn't leave. That I would beg to get rid of you." Naruto cried. "You lied. You lied to me. What good is seeing you again when all I want is to see you now? Stupid bastard making me fall in love with you. I need you now. I can't live without you but I have to. It hurts so much." Naruto cried. He put the ramen cup down and pulled his knees to his chest.

"_Dobe, why are you crying?"_ the imaginary Sasuke asked.

"I miss you so much." Naruto cried

"_I know, dobe. I know."_ Sasuke said.

"I love you." Naruto whispered. And he could have sworn he heard someone whisper 'I love you' back to him.

--

"Hey, dobe." Sasuke smiled as Naruto walked up to him. Sasuke looked like he was a teenager again. Naruto smiled brightly as Sasuke wrapped his arms around him. "I missed you so much." Sasuke whispered. Naruto held onto Sasuke as tightly as he could.

"Never leave me." Naruto told him. Sasuke laughed and stepped back to look Naruto in the eyes.

"You're stuck with me for eternity." He smiled and kissed Naruto. Naruto smiled.

"I love you, teme." Naruto said into the kiss.

"I love you too, Naruto." Sasuke said kissing Naruto after each word. Naruto smiled and held onto Sasuke. He knew he was going to be with the man he loved forever. THE END.

So there you have it, my first fan fiction ever. love it? hate it? i don't care send a review. I just want to see what people think of my stories. Sorry for any OOCness or non-cannon stuff. if it bothers you, let me know and i might change it. if you didn't care, let me know what you did care about.


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